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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. club — a group
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for dancing
  13. rule — government
  14. wound — an injury
  15. prune — to trim
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — rain
  21. club — for golf
  22. rest — a break
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com